Hironaka Breaks Fukushi's 5000 m NR - Tokyo Olympics Athletics Day Four Japanese Results

In the morning session on day four of track and field competition at the Tokyo Olympics, Yuki Hashioka became the first Japanese man since the 1984 Los Angeles Games to make an Olympic long jump top eight. Having jumped 8.17 m in the qualifying round to rank 3rd in the final, Hashioka struggled to perform up to ability. making the top 8 cutoff after three jumps but failing to clear 8 m.

On his final jump he delivered a 8.10 m to place 6th, visibly disappointed but still the best Japanese men's Olympic performance in 37 years and 8 cm further than Junichi Usui's bronze medal jump in Los Angeles.

In the women's 1500 m heats, Nozomi Tanaka shaved another sliver off her record to qualify for the semifinal in 4:02.33. Past national champion Ran Urabe ran a PB 4:07.90 but did not advance.

In the evening session, Ryuji Miura was the lone Japanese man in the men's 3000 m steeplechase final in just his second serious international race, the first being his national record-breaking heat. Out slower than he was comfortable with, Miura took the lead in the early going. But in the second half he seemed to lack the spark that had illuminated his three national record-breaking runs this season, dropping back into the double digits before kicking hard to finish 7th in 8:16.90, 7 seconds off the NR he'd run in his first round heat.

But whatever disappointment he might have felt, in post-race interviews Miura seemed mostly positive and eager to work out the problems that surfaced this time. Given that he's only been running at this level for a year, and still turned in Japan's al-time best Olympic steeple result you'll probably be hearing his name again in Oregon next year and Paris two years later.

Like Miura, Ririka Hironaka was uncomfortable with the slow pace in the women's 5000 m final over the first 200 m and took over the lead with something she was more comfortable with. As in her first round heat that was right around 3:00/km, with a first 1000 m in 3:00.7. From there she ran each 1000 m progressively faster, even when sucked in by the pack, hanging on to the back, getting dropped, and kicking in, going 3:00.7 - 3:00.1 - 2:59.9 - 2:57.9 - 2:54.2, uncharacteristically throwing off the hat she wears in every race with about 1000 m to go.

Hironaka finished 9th in 14:52.84, her second PB in two races and bettering the great Kayoko Fukushi's national record by less than 0.4. It was the last remaining major record of Fukushi's still standing, and with its erasure her name now appears only next to the U20 women's 3000 m. At the rate Hironaka is going this won't be the last time she adds her name to the record books. Her next chance comes Saturday in the women's 10000 m final.

Chepkirui Wins Nagoya Women's Marathon

Heavy-duty favorite Sheila Chepkirui took the win at Sunday's Nagoya Women's Marathon , pulling away after 30 km to cruise in for 1st in 2:20:40. Erratic pacing early saw the first and second groups only seconds apart for much of the first half of the race, the top group slower than planned and the 2nd group a bit ahead of schedule. At halfway in 1:10:37 the front group included Chepkirui, #2-ranked Ruti Aga and last year's runner-up Eunice Chumba , and Japanese contingent Sayaka Sato , Rika Kaseda , Natsuki Omori and Mao Uesugi . Omori was the first to drop, then Uesugi, then Aga, who ultimately dropped out before 30 km. When the pacers stopped at 30 km Chepkirui made a move that dropped Kaseda and strung out Chumba and Sato behind her, but all four came back together once before another surge put Kaseda away for good. As Chepkirui inched away Sato and Chumba passed each other repeatedly, and Chumba could only watch as the top Japanese runner got away from her again thi...

Who's Running Tokyo Worlds?

The Japanese marathon teams will be the most prestigious ones to be on for September's Tokyo World Championships, and with Sunday's Nagoya Women's Marathon the window for Japanese athletes to get onto the JAAF's shortlist closed. Who's on it? The final decision won't be made until Mar. 26, but let's look through the selection criteria and see who's guaranteed, who's pretty likely, and who has a chance. 1. Marathon medalists at the Paris Olympics - There weren't any, so nobody makes the team this way. Akira Akasaki (Kyudenko) and Yuka Suzuki (Daiichi Seimei) were the top placers, both of them running PBs in the Olympics to finish 6th. You'd think that would count for something a year later, but you'd think wrong. 2. JMC Series IV Champions - The top point scorers in the Japan Marathon Championship Series IV, which ran from April, 2023 to March, 2025, earn places on the marathon teams along with cash prizes. For women that's Yuka ...

Tokyo Marathon Top Japanese Man Tsubasa Ichiyama Works 4 Days a Week, Walked On in College

38,000 people ran the 2025 Tokyo Marathon . Every runner had their own story, but one of the most special was Tsubasa Ichiyama (Sunbelx). Despite being on almost nobody's radar, he outran some of the best in the country to finish as the top Japanese man. Ichiyama ran most of the race in the 3rd pace group, going through halfway in 1:02:44 and 30 km in 1:29:13. When the pacers stopped, he showed what he could really do. "I'm not good at downhills, so in the first part it was hard to run smoothly," he said at the post-race press conference. "But after the downhill part ended I got into my rhythm, and I think that helped me over the 2nd half." After dropping Asian Games gold medalist Hiroto Inoue (Mitsubishi Juko) and others, he quickly bore down on the Japanese athletes who had gone out faster in the 2nd pace group. Overtaking Paris Olympics 6th placer Akira Akasaki (Kyudenko) and Yuhei Urano (Fujitsu), at 39.8 km he caught all-time Japanese #2 man Yohei I...

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